$5m money laundering: US-based Nigerian faces five-year jail

A suspect

A United States-based Nigerian, Ifeanyi Ugwu, is facing up to years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business involving more than $5m in illegally obtained funds.

PUNCH Metro learnt from a statement by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Eric Grant, and obtained on Thursday that Ugwu, 49, of Bakersfield, admitted to running the illegal operation between December 2020 and August 2023.

According to the statement, “Ifeanyi Emmanuel Ugwu, 49, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business involving more than $5 million in illegally obtained funds.”

Grant noted that court documents revealed that Ugwu opened and operated at least 20 bank accounts, through which he received the funds. Punch